Ambling in the land of gambling

Ambling in the land of gambling

The Elvises were No. 1 on the charts — and in the race. And sure, they had a few too many peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but that was why they switched to the half-marathon.Photo by
K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal

The start of the race looked atrocious. Las Vegas Boulevard was closed for the marathon, so if you can picture the busiest road in the world shut down, then all those same people seeking out the one road leading to Mandalay Bay, you can imagine why I was a little concerned. Plus, 44,000 people were running the Rock ’n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon — 38,000 of those were running the half-marathon like me.

There were runners dressed up as Elvis, 41 people getting married and a man in a pink gorilla suit. My goal was to run 1:30, but since I didn’t register until a day before America’s third largest race, I was put into corral No. 48 — right next to a guy drinking beer. I may have run my fastest kilometre to corral No. 1 and the starting line.

A marathon in Vegas is a rarefied beast. I did yoga with the dolphins at the Mirage on race day and ate Peking duck at the Bellagio to prepare for my run. I only had two drinks since arriving on Friday for my Sunday race, so that distraction

was fairly well-handled (I was only running the half-marathon, after all), but I met lots of folks who signed up for the marathon and, after a few nights in Vegas, switched to the half.

Like they say in The Hangover: “Some guys just can’t handle Vegas,” I guess.

The race, which started at 5:30 p.m., began with The Star-Spangled Banner played by Mike McCready from Pearl Jam. I’d never been to a race out of town before, and I recommend it. Running down the strip from Mandalay Bay — past New York, New York, the Luxor and Caesar’s Palace beneath a constellation of neon lights — is exhilarating. And Canada was well represented. I met a couple from North Vancouver, the guy draped in a Canadian flag, and a grandfather from Saskatoon who’d run 63 marathons. He told me I’d be warm in my shorts, shirt, jacket and hat and, three kilometres into the 10C, he was right.

The race changed at about six kilometres, when we left the strip and ran through a part of Vegas where the pawn shops aren’t featured on reality TV. What was really cool was the people cheering. Not your typical race fans — it was night, in Vegas, in the seedy part of town — but nevertheless, they applauded, smoked and raised their red plastic cups.

At the halfway point, I ran into Ken Riess, the University of Alberta exercise science professor who helped train Dwight Kroening, the only heart transplant recipient ever to complete an Ironman triathlon. We fell into a quick, easy pace, around four-minutes, 10-seconds a kilometre, and he invited me to a party at Planet Hollywood. Eventually, he got tired, said, “Give ’er.” Then I popped an energy gel, and for the next three kilometres, I did just that.

We reached the strip again at 15K and my time was 58:22. Then I started getting tired — one day I’ll learn that damned negative split — but it was fine. The half-marathon is genteel. On the strip, I gutted it out past the Sahara, then the Wynn, Bally’s and the MGM Grand. On the sidelines, revellers drank and cheered. I didn’t have much juice at the end to gun it, but I met my goal and ran a personal best of 1:28:40. Maybe I would’ve gone quicker if I’d spent less time at the buffet, but I think the idea of running an out-of-town marathon is to enjoy the race, be a good ambassador for the sport and meet as many people as you can in our funky little subculture.

After the race, I hobbled back to my room and strangers congratulated me as I wrapped myself up in a tinfoil jacket and tried to eat a banana, freezing now after being so warm just a half hour ago. I had beer that night and a Colorado lamb T-bone; a vacation race in Las Vegas — no wonder it sold out last month.

Join the community on our NP Running Facebook page, and tell us about your favourite races, moments training and gear from 2011 (we'll be featuring your faces in an upcoming end of year wrap), and follow Ben Kaplan on Twitter to stay hooked in to the latest in running developments: @NP_RunningBen.

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